Chapter 6: A Witch in Wolf's Skin

Selene is brought directly to the largest house in the village and taken inside. She crosses the threshold and nearly drops to the floor. She pants heavily as she lowers Onyx down to the ground.

“What have you done!” a woman yells.

Selene’s heckles go up as she recognizes the voice. She had only heard her once, but she will never forget those words. Those words echo in her head even now-“kill her”.

Selene is taken aback as a beautiful woman rushes toward her. Her olive skin compliments her long curly brown hair. The woman's blue eyes are the brightest she has ever seen, almost glowing with a rage Selene doesn’t understand.

“How dare you touch the Alpha?” the woman scolds while dropping down to Onyx’s side.

The Alpha is unconscious and Selene’s stomach is in knots over the part she has played in his condition. That being said, Selene has put her life on the line to make sure Onyx made it home safely. She could have just left him by the river and saved her own skin.

As tired as she is, Selene’s not going down without a fight. The energy in the room is all-encompassing as she forces herself off the ground onto all fours. The she-wolf doesn’t skip a beat as she flashes from her human form to her wolf form. Had Selene blinked, she would have missed it.

“I’m going to enjoy making you pay for this,” the she-wolf says.

Selene shows her fangs and all the fur on her back stands up on end.

“Enough!” a male voice booms. “Sparrow, you know better than to threaten our guest!”

An older man practically stumbles down the steps behind the she-wolf. Although heavyset, he appears to be in good shape for his age. He hurries over to Onyx and assesses the Alpha’s wound.

“If you can’t keep it together, you know where the door is,” he lectures her while waving to another man for help.

Sparrow looks Selene up and down before dropping her stance and sitting obediently on the ground. “I’m not leaving. As long as this impostor is here, so am I.”

The older man waves her off as he and the other man lift the Alpha. “Follow us, my dear. We need to get our Alpha some much-needed aid,” he turns to Sparrow. “You stay here.”

Selene follows the two up the winding staircase to a large room. A fireplace is filled with logs that crackle and pop as she walks into the open space. An oversized four-post bed looks more than welcoming with its numerous pillows and blankets. The posts are adorned with pulls that, when drawn, will allow privacy to any occupants.

Rather than heading to the bed, the two men bring Onyx closer to the fire and lay him on a pillowed rug. Selene follows, stepping around the furniture scattered about the room.

“What weapon did this?” the old man asks, analyzing the wound on Onyx’s shoulder.

Selene looks him in the eyes, finding comfort in his nonjudgmental stare. “It was a ceremonial blade,” she replies. “The coven was performing a blood ritual and Onyx…”

She drifts off, not able to handle the rest without crying. The older man’s brow furrows upon receiving the news.

“I need to do some research on how to deal with this. His shifter powers should have mostly healed this scratch by now. I need to figure out how to counteract this magic.”

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault,” Selene replies.

“You are safe here, child. You can shift to your human form if you want. Unless you were the one who sliced him, what has happened to the Alpha is not your fault.”

Selene looks around the room, suddenly very uncomfortable about her situation. She is exhausted and just wants to go to sleep. “I don’t know how,” she whispers.

“Is this your first shift?” the older man almost shouts. “I’m sorry, please excuse my outburst. It’s just, at your age shifting should be as easy as breathing. You just need to relax and calm your mind.”

“I’m so tired,” she squeaks.

“My name’s Tobin,” the older man says gently. “I need to go do some research on how to save our Alpha. Get some rest, and don’t worry, I’m going to leave a guard at the door.”

That being said, he leaves Selene and Onyx alone in the room.

Selene lets out a sigh and curls up on the rug by Onyx. She feels safe next to him, and the fire is so warm. Her mind drifts for a little while before she slips into the dark embrace of sleep.

Hours have passed, and early morning light pours through the windows as Selene stretches. “Just a few more minutes,” she thinks as she rolls over and curls up with her pillow.

Her eyes pop open as she becomes aware she’s completely naked and the pillow she’s curling into isn’t a pillow, it’s Onyx. He’s still in his wolf form sleeping on the ground next to her.

“Oh Goddess,” she gasps while sitting up.

A knock at the door adds to her panic as the previous events come flooding back.

“Just a moment,” she yells. She closes her eyes and claps, magically dressing herself for the day. The feeling of clothing against her skin helps her to calm down. “Enter,” she says.

Tobin enters the room and smiles. “I see you managed to shift back, and someone found you some clothing.”

“I don’t know how, but yes, I did,” Selene replies, stumbling over her words.

Tobin appears unbothered by her stutter, and he makes his way over to Onyx.

“Let me get this fire going and we can talk about last night.”

Without thinking about it, Selene snaps at the hearth, waking the dying embers from their slumber. Tobin slowly turns toward her, startling her with his somber look.

“You’re one of them!” he yells while shifting into a large white wolf.

Selene backs away while trying to defend herself. “One of who? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I mean you no harm.”

Tobin moves toward her and Selene backs all the way up to one of the posts of the bed. She would shift back to her wolf form, it would at least give her a fighting chance, but she doesn’t know how.

A low rumble shakes the room and causes Tobin to stop his pursuit. Onyx may not be able to move but he’s still able to protect her. The Alpha growls again and Tobin shifts back to his human form.

He turns to Selene with a look of confusion. “So you are not a coven witch from the village?”

“No,” Selene replies while trying not to look at the naked man before her. She claps him into the clothing he had entered the room in.

Tobin looks at the threads as if he’s never seen magic before.

“Well, that’s rather handy,” he says while returning to the Alpha’s side. “My apologies,” he says to Onyx. “I had no idea who had come into our home. Forgive me for trying to protect you.”

Onyx grumbles but doesn’t move.

“So, Sparrow wasn’t lying to me when she said you are a witch?” Tobin asks.

Selene moves back over to Onyx’s side and sits on the floor next to him. “Yes, I am a witch. No, I don’t belong to the village or the coven. Yes, this all happened because of me,” she says while running her hand over the Alpha’s side. “And no, I hadn’t shifted a day in my life until last night at the blood ceremony.”

Tobin sits in the chair next to her and places his hand on her shoulder. Selene flinches. The spot where Marcus had poked her still hurts. Tobin pulls his hand away and clears his throat.

“I don’t know how to heal Onyx,” he says. “I managed to find out that daggers used in blood ceremonies tend to have magic attributes that can only be cured by healing stones. There are some potions that can be used to help with the pain, but even our shifter powers are no match for such magic.”

“Healing stones,” Selene says to herself. She remembers her Gram scolding her for playing with a bag of stones she kept in her room. Selene had been little, but it was one of the only times her grandmother raised her voice. The scolding stuck with her for a long time and she never played with them again.

“I need to leave,” Selene says while jumping up to her feet.

Tobin looks down at Onyx as he grumbles in protest.

“I’m going to pretend you are wishing me safe travels,” Selene says while bending down to caress his head. “I trusted you once. I won’t be gone long.”

Tobin hurries out the door after Selene as she rushes down the steps and up to the front door.

“Wait,” he begs. “Where are you going?”

“I need to go back to my home. I think my grandmother kept healing stones in her room,” she replies while stepping out the front door onto the porch.

“You can’t go alone,” Tobin huffs. “The coven is probably still looking for you. Your house isn’t going to be safe right now.”

Sparrow slides out the door behind them and leans against the frame. “Let her go, Tobin. Maybe her kin can finish what they started.”

Tobin snaps his whole body toward Sparrow. “Our Alpha may die and you have jokes?” he yells. “You know what, you are ordered to go with Selene. And if she doesn’t come back with the stones to heal our leader, don’t bother coming back alone.”

Sparrow crosses her arms and enters into a staring match with the much older Tobin. A deep growl grows from his chest and the she-wolf gives in.

“Let’s go!” she snaps at Selene as she storms past her.